Myths and Facts About the Banu Qurayzah

The Christian missionaries have been making a lot of noise about the circumstances surrounding the Banu Qurayzah. It is a wonder that even after countless of explanations on the matter, they still want to play on this old, tired polemic. Regardless, it is about time that an answer is given to checkmate the nonsense surrounding the issue once and for all. Here, we shall attempt to address the myths about the Banu Qurayzah and establish the real facts, as follows.

MYTH:

The Banu Qurayza were innocent victims who perished under the sword of Muhammad(P)

FACT:

Not true at all. On the contrary, the Banu Qurayzah prior to the incident of their so-called “massacre” attempted to betray the Muslims by openly aligning themselves with the Confederate armies (consisting of the pagan Quraysh and their allies) during the beseiging of the city of Madinah, known in history as the “War of the Confederates” (al-Harb al-Adzhaab). This is a significant act of treason, because they had earlier pledged to uphold the Madinan Covenent with the Muslims, which stipulates cooperation and an alliance if the Muslims in Madinah were attacked by a foreign force.

MYTH:

The Prophet(P) ordered this punishment of the Banu Qurayza.

FACT:

Wrong. It was a Companion of the Prophet(P) by the name Saad ibn Muaz(R), an Ansar and the ally of the Banu Quraizah, who did that after the Banu Qurayzah leaders met with him and agreed to submit to whatever his judgement would be for their crimes against the Muslims.

MYTH:

The “massacre” was ordered on Muhammad’s says-so. This is because Muhammad feared the Jews and recognised that they were a threat to his political dominance.

FACT:

The claim is of no substance apart from being a blasphemous lie. It is clear that Saad ibn Muaz(R) have administered the punishment in accordance with Jewish law as found in the Torah. The law is:

“When the Lord thy God hath delivered it unto thy hands, thou shalt smite every male therein with the edge of the sword: but the women, and the little ones and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself.” (Deuteronomy 20:12)

It is therefore clear that Muslims are not to be blamed for administering a Law that is found within the Jewish scripture itself upon the Jews who had earlier agreed to submit to Saad ibn Muaz’s judgement.

MYTH:

The Prophet (P) allowed this Law to be passed because he was inhuman and unmerciful.

FACT:

The reason why the Prophet (P) allowed judgement according to Jewish law was because the Banu Qurayzah were Jews, and in their initial agreement with the Prophet(P), they were allowed their own system of law according to the Torah. The Prophet(P) neither influenced the decision nor was he involved in any stage of the decision-making, as the representatives of Banu Qurayzah did not seek his judgement.